Nuggets to open postseason vs. Hornets

With the regular season in the books, the Nuggets must now contend with the New Orleans Hornets - and star Chris Paul, above with the Spurs' Tim Duncan - in the first round. (Eric Gay, The Associated Press )

PORTLAND, Ore. — We're No. 2!

It's hardly a dubious declaration, and the Nuggets are proud and pumped heading into the first round of the Western Conference playoffs against the seventh-seeded Hornets. As they say down in New Orleans: Laissez les bon temps rouler. (Let the good times roll.)

The Nuggets clinched the No. 2 seed Wednesday a matter of minutes before tipoff at Portland's Rose Garden when Dallas beat Houston. Their opponent was determined when San Antonio — thanks to a fourth-quarter, buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Michael Finley — defeated New Orleans in overtime.

With nothing to play for, Denver lost 104-76 to the Trail Blazers, who had to win to secure the No. 4 seed.

The Blazers (54-28) finished with the same record as the Nuggets and were 2-2 against them, but Denver won the tiebreaker for the division title and the higher playoff seed because it had a better division record.

And so, the Nuggets finished the season 54-28, tied with the 1987-88 squad for the best record in Nuggets NBA history.

But more important, heading into the playoffs, "to me, there's a confidence that's never been there before," said George Karl, who has coached Denver since January of the 2004-05 season. "There's always been a nervousness. We always had to talk about how we felt like we could beat a team or that we felt that we're better. I'll be honest with you, I think we think we're better than the people we're going to play.

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I think there's a respect of the challenge. It seems like going into playoffs the last three years, when you're playing the Lakers or Spurs, there's a nervousness."

The Nuggets split the season series with New Orleans (49-33), each team going 1-1 at home. The most recent matchup was at New Orleans Arena on March 25, when the Nuggets won 101-88, thanks to smothering defense. For Denver to win this series, it must contain the two-man game of all-stars David West and Chris Paul.

And that night, it did just that — West was 6-for-19 shooting and Paul committed six turnovers.

"When we have a high-priority on pick-and-rolls, we usually do pretty well," Karl said.

That night, Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin played stingy defense, taking the stinger out of the Hornets' West, and Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups, Dahntay Jones and Anthony Carter took turns on Paul, an Olympic teammate of Carmelo Anthony's. After the win that night, Anthony said: "To be honest with you, this might be the biggest win for us this year. . . . It was a battle. It was a playoff game tonight."

Numerous Nuggets have New Orleans connections. Anthony led Syracuse to the 2003 national championship at the Louisiana Superdome. Chris "The Birdman" Andersen had his breakout season there in 2004-05, and then re-signed with the Hornets last spring when he was reinstated into the league. And J.R. Smith had two tumultuous seasons playing for coach Byron Scott, an old-school coach who didn't care for the carefree attitude of the kid who called himself "Young Rich."

Since then, Smith has swished often against the Hornets. Denver's top reserve averages 15.4 points per game, but 21.3 against New Orleans, including a 32-point output Nov. 27.

On Wednesday morning, about eight hours before tipoff, Anthony lounged in a courtside seat at the Rose Garden, lost in his thoughts. Someone walked up to him and asked him how he was doing.

Nuggets Recap

What you might have missed

During the second quarter, Carmelo Anthony went up for a rebound against Joel Przybilla and Anthony's left arm was caught in his opponent's grasp. They got face to face, each pointing fingers within inches of each other's cheeks. Each received a technical foul. . . . The Nuggets shot only 33.7 percent (28-of-83) from the field. . . . Portland's Rudy Fernandez made six 3-pointers, giving him 159 for the season — the most 3s ever by an NBA rookie.

Final thought

Ugly game, but an irrelevant game. It's playoff time.

Up next

Game 1 of the first-round playoff series against New Orleans at the Pepsi Center, Sunday, 8:30 p.m., TNT.

Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post

Nuggets' playoff schedule

Game 1: Sunday vs. Hornets, 8:30 p.m., TNT

Game 2: Wednesday vs. Hornets, 8:30 p.m., TNT

Game 3: Sat., April 25 at Hornets, 11 a.m., ESPN

Game 4: Mon., April 27 at Hornets, TBD

Game 5: Wed., April 29 vs. Hornets, TBD, if necessary

Game 6: Friday, May 1 at Hornets, TBD, if necessary

Game 7: Sun., May 3 vs. Hornets, TBD, if necessary

Nuggets vs. Hornets

The skinny: Last season, the Hornets were the feel-good story of the Western Conference, playing their first post-hurricane season in New Orleans and inspiring the city en route to a No. 2 seed. This season, the beleaguered Bees are limping into the postseason.

Dangerous duo: All-stars Chris Paul and David West run a nasty pick-and-roll game. West, who essentially took Carmelo Anthony's spot on the all-star team, hits the 18-foot elbow jumper better than most folks on this planet, and Paul, No. 2 in MVP voting last season, has even better numbers this season. Anthony's Olympic teammate averages 22.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and a league-high 11 assists. He's also tops in the NBA with 2.8 steals. His biggest steal would be a road game against Denver in the playoffs.

Hobbling along: Center Tyson Chandler played Wednesday on a hobbled right ankle, his first game back since March 16. Forward Peja Stojakovic missed all but two games in March.

Down the stretch: The Hornets won just five of their final 13 games, including a 101-88 loss to Denver at New Orleans Arena and Wednesday night's OT "L" at San Antonio.

Two and two: The teams split the four-game series, though in the Hornets' 13-point win Jan. 28, the Nuggets were without Carmelo Anthony.

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